Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting read, November 2, 2003
The Saga of Gisli provides an interesting account of medieval Icelandic life and justice. The saga recounts the story of Gisli, an immigrant to Iceland. After his brother-in-law Vestein is killed, Gisli using his prophetic dreams as proof of the murderer's identity avenges Vestein's death. He is betrayed by his sister and sentenced to outlawry by the Assembly. The story goes on to tell of Gisli's experiences during his outlawry. As a medieval Icelandic story, The Saga of Gisli is filled with terse, straightforward sentences that often lack description. Although this means that it can be easy to read, the story is almost purely action. It can also be quite violent at times which reflects the society where it takes place. Because lineage was of great interest to the original audience, the ancestors of many characters are recounted. This, along with the fact that many characters share similar names, can cause confusion at times. However, Gisli's family tree is provided and helps to logically present many of the characters and their relationships with each other. Although a little long and boring at times, the introduction by Anthony Faulkes provides valuable, up-to-date information on the history of the sagas and the history of Iceland. Published recently, it contains the most recent findings on Iceland and the sagas. The introduction is a important resource especially for those who have little knowledge of the Icelandic legal system. It goes into depth about the legal proceedings in Iceland during the time period when Gisli's saga occurs. This allows the reader to understand how Gisli became an outlaw. The book contains many helpful extras that facilitate an understanding of the text. Detailed maps enable the reader to follow the geographic locations mentioned in the story. Also, an index of names is provided that includes the chapters where the characters appear. The summary of the text can help recap the action-packed story if the reader forgets what happened in previous chapters. A glossary with the meanings of Icelandic words is also helpful. Three Icelandic Sagas, which contains The Saga of Gisli, provides an interesting read about a different culture in a different time while providing many resources that enable the reader to have a fairly good understanding of the text.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
interesting read, November 2, 2003
The Saga of Gisli provides an interesting account of medieval Icelandic life and justice. The saga recounts the story of Gisli, an immigrant to Iceland. After his brother-in-law Vestein is killed, Gisli using his prophetic dreams as proof of the murderer's identity avenges Vestein's death. He is betrayed by his sister and sentenced to outlawry by the Assembly. The story goes on to tell of Gisli's experiences during his outlawry. As a medieval Icelandic story, The Saga of Gisli is filled with terse, straightforward sentences that often lack description. Although this means that it can be easy to read, the story is almost purely action. It can also be quite violent at times which reflects the society where it takes place. Because lineage was of great interest to the original audience, the ancestors of many characters are recounted. This, along with the fact that many characters share similar names, can cause confusion at times. However, Gisli's family tree is provided and helps to logically present many of the characters and their relationships with each other. Although a little long and boring at times, the introduction by Anthony Faulkes provides valuable, up-to-date information on the history of the sagas and the history of Iceland. Published recently, it contains the most recent findings on Iceland and the sagas. The introduction is a important resource especially for those who have little knowledge of the Icelandic legal system. It goes into depth about the legal proceedings in Iceland during the time period when Gisli's saga occurs. This allows the reader to understand how Gisli became an outlaw. The book contains many helpful extras that facilitate an understanding of the text. Detailed maps enable the reader to follow the geographic locations mentioned in the story. Also, an index of names is provided that includes the chapters where the characters appear. The summary of the text can help recap the action-packed story if the reader forgets what happened in previous chapters. A glossary with the meanings of Icelandic words is also helpful. Three Icelandic Sagas, which contains The Saga of Gisli, provides an interesting read about a different culture in a different time while providing many resources that enable the reader to have a fairly good understanding of the text.
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1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A little unintelligible at times, but well worth the effort, November 12, 2005
Like the previous reviewer, I too found this collection of sagas most valuable for its unique primer on ancient Icelandic law, culture and customs. The Saga of Gisli and the Saga of Hord were especially useful in this regard. Unfortunately, if you're looking for developed characters or a compelling story that is easy to follow, you'll have to look elsewhere.
Thankfully, the Saga of Grettir not only adds to the history lesson by contributes the story of a character full of condradictions and one who changes over time as a result of his experiences--many of which involve hacking other people to pieces in bloody combat. Battles with supernatural demons, over rights to beached, dead whales and on top of beached dead whales will enhance (for most readers) a sense of alien, almost unimaginable experiences. The Saga of Grettir have been compared to the Illiad but I didn't think there were enough developed characters or central theme to make that a valid comparison. Grettir has considerably more characters and character development then Beowulf, but the parallels of dialogue and emphasis on bloodshed and gore make the two tales comparable. Perhaps bloodshed is also what Grettir, Beowulf and the Illiad also have most in common.
The translator's introduction, foot notes, maps, geneological graphs and appendices of place names and obscure references were all helpful in aiding my understanding of the Sagas. Unfortunately however, the translation of text is what counts more than anything. While this one was adequate, it was full of akward phrasings and far, far too many colloquialisms derived from modern British slang and vernacular to qualify as a superior translation. Sometimes modern speech can aid our comprehension of ancient stories but in this collection it was a distraction that diminished the mood, tone, and quite frankly even the coherance of these austere works.
If that sounds elitist I'm sorry but that was just my overall impression. I hasten to add that I do not read Icelandic nor have I read other translations of these works. These are interesting stories and the translator did the best he could. Its worth it to read every page from end to end including the informative introduction and appendices.
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